by Tiny plastic shards, which are known as microplastics, have been collected in the human brain, but there is still not enough evidence to say whether this hurt us, experts said.
These mostly invisible plastic pieces were found everywhere from the top of the mountains to the bottom of the oceans, in the air we breathe and the food we eat. They were also led through human bodies, in lungs, hearts, placentas and even over the blood-brain barrier.
The increasing omnipresence of microplastics has become a central topic in the effort to master the first contract for plastic pollution, with the latest round of the UN talks taking place in Geneva next week.
The effects that have microplastics and even smaller nanoplasty on human health are not yet fully understood, but the researchers have worked to find out more in this relatively new area.
The best -known study with microplastics in the brain was published in February in the Journal Nature Medicine.
The scientists tested brain tissue of 28 people who died in 2016 and 24 who died in the US state of New Mexico last year and found that the amount of microplastics in rehearsals increased over time.
The study made headlines worldwide when the senior researcher, the US toxicologist Matthew camping, informed the media that they discovered the equivalent of a microplastics worth the value of plastic spoons in the brain.
Camping also said nature that he estimated that the researchers could insulate about 10 grams of plastic from a donated human brain – and compared this amount with an unused colored stick.
– speculation ‘far beyond the evidence’ – – –
But other researchers have been caution before the small study since then.
“Although this is an interesting finding, it should be carefully interpreted until an independent check is,” toxicologist Theodore Henry told Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University to AFP.
“At the moment, speculation about the possible effects of plastic particles on health goes far beyond the evidence,” he added.
Oliver Jones, a chemical professor at the Australia RMIT University, said AFP said that “there were not enough data on the occurrence of microplastics in New Mexico, let alone global”.
He also found it “quite unlikely” that brains could contain more microplastics than in raw water – as the researchers had estimated.
Jones pointed out that people were completely healthy in the study before their death, and that the researchers recognized that there is not enough data to show that microplastics have caused damage.
“If (and in my opinion it is a big one, if in my opinion there is microplastics in our brain, there is still no evidence of damage,” added Jones.
The study also contained double pictures, the website of the neuroscientific news that the broadcaster reported, although experts said that this had not affected its main results.
– ‘Can’t wait for complete data’ – – –
Most research on the effects of microplastics on health were observed, which means that it cannot cause a cause and effect.
Such a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that microplastics that build up in blood vessels were associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and death in patients with an illness.
Experiments were also carried out with mice, including a study in January, in which microplastics were found in their brain.
The Chinese researchers said that microplastics can cause rare blood clots in the brain of mice by hindering the cells – while emphasizing that the small mammals are very different.
A review of the World Health Organization in 2022 showed that the “evidence is not sufficient to determine human health risks.
However, many health experts have given the precautionary principle, which indicates that potential threat microplastics could require measures.
In a report on the health risks of microplastics by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, which was published this week before the contract talks, stated that “political decisions cannot wait for complete data”.
“By acting now to limit the exposure to improve the methods of risk assessment and prioritize population groups in need of protection, we can tackle this urgent problem before escalating public health,” she added.
The amount of plastic that the world produces has doubled since 2000 – and is expected to be tripled by current prices by 2060.
DL-JDY/Ach/TC
